Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Zombies are everywhere and a small band of survivors have locked themselves inside of a shopping mall.

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What distinguishes a great horror film from an average one is not the kills (though those can be really fun), but rather the way people react and interact when put into such dire situations. The original Dawn of the Dead is a case study in deft observation. Rest assured there are amazing scenes of zombie carnage strung throughout the film, but the stretches in-between are just as delectable. This is what George Romero excels at: take a couple of different personality types, put them in a pressure cooker and what do you get? A true horror masterpiece.

Remake: The remake is pretty awesome too, but please see this original first.